Burckhardt supporting Shell in transition to hydrogen

Burckhardt Compression has been selected as one of the finalists in the New Energies program launched by Shell. Against this background, the oil giant has now agreed a collaboration with the Winterthur-based firm, further details of which can be found in a press release. Within the framework of this partnership, Burckhardt will seek to develop non-lube high-pressure hydrogen compressor systems that can be used at hydrogen refueling stations. In so doing, the focus will be on serving heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

As part of this project, Burckhardt will be constructing a test facility in its home city of Winterthur. This is expected to be operational by the end of 2022, or by the start of 2023 at the latest. Developments generated as part of the collaboration will then be tested here over a period of 12 months.

The solutions developed by Burckhardt should enable the compression of hydrogen gas up to 900 bar with the use of non-lubricated compressor systems. According to the press release, the choice in favor of using piston compressors was taken based on their high level of reliability and the low overall operating costs for these systems. In addition, their ability to compress high volumes of hydrogen in a single compressor unit represents a key advantage.